


Warmth

by Summer_Dusk



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, also some Morag/Nia cuddles in the end bc Im a thirsty ass shipper, minor spoilers regarding Nia's family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 05:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14826282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_Dusk/pseuds/Summer_Dusk
Summary: When the group arrives in Theosoir Nia comes down with a cold. Dromarch, Mòrag and Brighid stay behind to take care of her.





	Warmth

Tantal was cold. Very, very cold.

Nia was shuddering beneath the covers of her guest bed at Anastatia’s Inn. She felt terribly nauseous, her nose was running and she felt exhausted despite having just woken up. She knew _exactly_ why she had ended up like this and the fact that the culprit stood by her bed and tried to get her out of it was not helping.

“Nia?”, Pyra called her carefully. “We need to leave…”

“Shaddup!” Nia sneezed loudly. “This is all your fault.”, her stifled voice said accusingly.

Pyra winced. “Well…” _Maybe_ it had been her attack that had hit a snow covered ruin while they had been fighting off a Garlus, which had prompted the snow to fall down from the ledges and burry Nia underneath. And _maybe_ she had done this on purpose, because she had been fed up with Nia clinging on to her because she had been too cold. “I think Mythra is also to blame for that…” And _maybe_ Mythra had had a part in encouraging her to do so.

“I don’t care! You guys can go alone!” The shuddering didn’t stop. Nia sneezed again.

Pyra almost didn’t dare approach the trembling hill laying on the bed. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it down a bit, revealing the very red and snotty face of her Gormotti companion.

Pyra frowned. “You don’t seem too well.”

“Oh really??”, Nia hissed back at her. “Whose fault do you think this –“

Pyra put the blanket back over Nia’s head wordlessly, drowning the rest of her words out.

There was a knock on the door.  
“Is everything alright with you guys?” Carefully, Rex opened the door halfway.

“I think Nia caught a cold.”, Pyra replied and turned her head towards the door to face him.

“Is it bad?” The boy frowned.

Pyra drew the blanket back a bit again, but before she could reveal Nia’s face once again the Gormotti hissed and pulled the blanket right back up again.

Now Tora popped up right next to Rex. “Everything alright? Tora heard gruesome monster hiss!”

“That was not a…”, Dromarch’s voice began, but he halted. “Never mind.”

“Meh?”

Pyra could almost feel Nia’s anger pile up with every further word said and with every further team mate appearing at the doorstep.

“Can’t handle a bit of cold, furry ears?”

The hill on the bed stopped trembling. Sensing danger, Pyra made a large step back for safety’s sake. Next thing she knew, one of Nia’s Twin Rings flew across the room and knocked Zeke right over. The rest of the party bend over him with wide eyes.

 _I think we should let her rest for today…_ , Mythra’s voice chimed in.  
Pyra narrowed her eyes. _Really now._

Nia heard her friends whisper and shuffle around, but in the end the room grew quiet again.  
“Nia, we will take care of a few requests we picked up on the way here and will visit the king once you feel better.”, Pyra’s voice said.

Nia grunted. “Yeah, whatever…”

“Milady, do you wish for me to stay and keep you company?”, Dromarch asked.

“Just leave already!”

There was some more shuffling and she heard the door close.  
Nia pulled the blanket off her face and inhaled deeply. Her ears perked up and she heard the word “prickly” together with a mumbled apology from Dromarch. She felt the need to punch someone in the face, preferably Zeke. Nia sat up and regretted it immediately again when the room started to spin.

She fell back into her cushion with a heavy sigh. “Ugh…”

She was trembling and her body felt hot and cold at the same time. Vertigo, loss of appetite, a running nose – yes, that was definitely a textbook cold.

She turned to her side and looked out of the window. It was snowing today in Tantal, with thick dark clouds hanging over the sky. Part of her was glad that she did not have to go out in that weather. Looking outside alone made her feel cold. She closed her eyes again and huddled deeper into the sheets. The room lay in silence. No voices from her team mates, no quiet rustling when Pyra or Mythra went to sleep after her. How long had it been since she had a quiet minute alone?

She smiled a bit. Travelling with Rex and the others was always loud and rowdy, especially since Zeke had joined them. It could be very annoying at times, but compared to when she had been with Torna it was a so much more enjoyable time.

She heard footsteps from someone walking along the corridor. It was a soothing sound in the middle of the quiet. Nia fell asleep without noticing.

Next time she awoke the clouds had cleared and the afternoon rays of sunshine woke her up. Nia felt tired when she opened her eyes.  
“Ugh…” She put a hand on her forehead, but it was hard to judge the temperature when her hand was warm from keeping it beneath the sheets.

Someone knocked on her door.  
“Yeah?”, Nia only made.

The door opened and to her surprise it was Mòrag who entered. Nia rose her eyebrows.  
“I brought you tea.”, the Ardainian woman said and walked up to her, indeed holding a saucer with a cup of tea in one of her hands.

Nia made the effort to sit up again and this time she did not feel dizzy. She took the saucer in her hands and placed it on the sheets on her lap.  
“Did you guys return already?”, she inquired.

Mòrag shook her head. “We thought it for the best if someone stayed behind to look after you.”

Nia snorted. “And you volunteered, obviously.”

“Not exactly…”, Mòrag began and the Gormotti wasn’t surprised at all. “Dromarch did, but since he is not exactly able to bring you food or anything similar we needed someone else.”

Nia took a sip from her tea and instantly regretted not blowing on it first. “And you stayed behind, because…?”

Mòrag frowned. “Frankly, because Pandoria mumbled something about how girls did not feel comfortable being seen by their male peers when in ‘such’ a state.” She made a gesture that encompassed Nia and the bed.

That sounded like something Kora would also say. Nia grimaced. “I couldn’t care less about that.”

“I figured as much.” There was a smile hidden in Mòrag’s face.

“So you stayed behind because of girlish clichés and because you are a woman.”, Nia summarized.

Mòrag nodded. “It’s quite the development actually. No jokes about my appearance were made.”

“As if you would’ve let them make those.” Nia smiled amused and this time she remembered to blow the tea first before she took another sip.

This time, Mòrag did not bother supressing her smile. “How do you feel?”

Nia shrugged. “Don’t know. A bit better since I’m sitting upright and the room’s not spinning. ”She tried feeling for her own temperature again by placing the back of her hand on her forehead. “Pretty sure I had a fever this morning too, but I can’t really tell now.”

“Let me see.” Immediately Mòrag was at her side, sitting on the bed. She raised one of her gloved hands, but she halted, and after a moment of consideration, she took her hat off and placed it by the night table and touched Nia’s forehead with her own.

“Wha-“ As soon as they touched Nia swallowed her own words. Mòrag was close. Way too close. And she did it so nonchalantly too!

“Hm…” Not very satisfied with what she felt, Mòrag stroke Nia’s hair to the side and touched Nia’s forehead with her lips.

Nia’s face turned glaring red. She only had a second to notice that Mòrag’s lips were soft and felt nicely cool on her hot skin. Then Mòrag retreated again and looked her in the eyes. “Your temperature is still a bit high.”

“Th-thanks for checking…” Nia replied and turned her gaze downwards to the cup in her lap. She knew that the lips were more sensible and that they were a better way to check up on someone’s temperature if no thermometer was available – but still. It was an intimate gesture, something a mother would do for a child and Mòrag had never quite struck her as the motherly type. But then again, she _did_ have a little brother.

“Are you hungry? The innkeeper offered to make some soup.”, Mòrag asked her and there was a caring smile on her face.

Nia found herself liking the off-duty inquisitor. “That’s really nice of him…” She took another sip and placed the empty cup back on the saucer. “How come?”

“He heard me, Brighid and Dromarch talk about you in the common room and they don’t get many visitors from the outside… I guess he was just glad for the change.”

“Heh, I see…” She mused for a few moments. She did not feel very hungry, but the warm tea had done her good and it would help her recover if she ate something. She hadn’t felt much like eating before her nap but it was better now. “I think I’d like some.”

Mòrag nodded. “Anything else you’d like?”

Nia blinked twice, still not used to Mòrag being so complaisant. “I dunno… I will think about it.”

“Do that.” Mòrag gave her another smile, took the saucer in her hand and stood up again. When she walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle Nia remembered her manners: “Thanks. For the tea, I mean.”

“It is nothing.” The Ardainian replied and left.

Nia’s gazed lingered on the door for a bit, even after Mòrag was gone. Absentmindedly, she placed a hand on her forehead, where Mòrag’s lips had touched her. Eventually she sighed and sank back into the covers again. “Oh, she left her hat…” A subconscious smile appeared on her face. She wondered if she should get up and bring it to her. It surely wouldn’t hurt to stretch her legs for a bit, especially since she would spent most of the day in bed anyway. She took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. It felt kind of good to just lie down for a day instead of running around on titans all day every day. The thought chipped away at her resolve to stand up again.

“Oh, come on, it’s just once.”, she told herself and sat up again.  She felt dizzy as soon as her feet hit the ground. “Ugh, too fast…”

Nia stood still for a moment to regain her composure. It worked and she took Mòrag’s hat in her hands. She felt as if she had a sacred treasure in her hands. Maybe she shouldn’t touch it and wait for Mòrag to come back…

An unpleasant smell reached her nose. She looked down on herself and frowned. “Haven’t washed that thing in a while..:”, she said as she examined her yellow suit. After reaching the inn yesterday she had fallen into the bed immediately, then she had gotten her fever and sweated under the covers for the whole night and morning. Her frown deepened. “I should take a bath.”

She stepped out of the room.

Brighid sat by one of the tables nearby the bar in the common room and read a book, Dromarch was sitting on the floor next to her and looked curiously over her shoulder. Whenever she was about to turn a page, she gazed at the white tiger who in turn gave his okay with a nod, indicating that he had finished reading the page, too. They had a similar reading speed and after a while this wasn’t necessary anymore.

Mòrag sat by the bar and talked with the keeper Viccus, while he was making some soup for his guests. There weren’t many other people around besides them.

Nia watched the scene from the corridor, before she entered the room hesitantly.  
All eyes wandered to her.

“Milady.” Dromarch immediately stepped up to her. Brighid watched him quietly.

“Is this your sick friend?”, Viccus asked Mòrag.

“Yes.”, she replied and turned to face Nia. “What brings you out here?”

“Um…” She held the hat out in her direction. “You forgot something.”

Mòrag rose her eyebrows. Brighid seemed surprised. “Well, I intended to return soon anyways and did not want to disturb you.”, the driver answered.

“Oh, I see…” Nia felt a bit awkward. She approached the bar and placed the hat in front of Mòrag.

“Are you already healthy enough to be wandering around like that?”; Viccus asked her.

Nia rose her hand and shook it lightly to indicate a so-so. “I wanted to ask if I could take a bath here.”

The innkeeper nodded. “Just down the hallway.” He grabbed something beneath the counter and threw it nonchalantly at her direction.

Nia caught the key with both her hands easily, which amused him. “Seems like your reflexes haven’t suffered from your condition.”

“Watch it. We Gormotti can hold ourselves quite well, even in sickness.”

Viccus laughed heartily, a stark contrast to his stern appearance. “Anything else you need?”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a set of spare clothes?”, she asked. “I need to wash mine and… it’s way too cold to walk around with… not so much.”

Viccus turned to the pot again and stirred it. “I will take care of that. Go take your bath, I will leave the clothes on your bed.”

Nia nodded. “Thanks.”, she said and gave him a polite smile. When she was halfway down the corridor she heard him shout after her: “Come back for your soup after you change!”

When she entered the door to the bathroom she wondered with a grin if all Tantalese had a soft spot underneath their cold exterior.

The bath had been refreshing. Nia felt reborn when she returned to her room and changed into her spare clothes: a set of white trousers, a long-sleeved black top and a brown waistcoat with a high collar and a pattern of squares on it. It was typically Tantalese clothing, Nia had seen quite a few people in town dressed like that when they had arrived the other day. Mostly children, she realized with a little frown.

“Surprisingly comfortable.”, she commented to no one in particular. She put the two yellow ribbons she usually wore in her hair on the night table. Her hair was still wet, despite her best efforts to rub it dry and she did not want to put them back on since she feared the colour may wash out. Then she went to seek her friends out again.

Brighid and Dromarch were still at the same table as last time Nia had entered the room and this time Mòrag had joined them. Three steaming hot bowls of soup were placed on the table and an additional plate with cooked fish for Dromarch.

Nia sat down on the chair next to Mòrag, who eyed her new outfit with open interest.  
“Got anything to say?”, Nia asked her with a snarky tone.

“It suits you.”, she replied.

“Indeed.”, Dromarch agreed.

Nia’s ears twitched and she lowered her gaze sheepishly. “L-let’s eat!” She took her first spoonful of soup and immediately regretted not blowing on it first. She burned her mouth for a second time today and instead of spitting it right back out she gulped it down. Great, now she had a burned gullet too, as if being sick wasn’t enough.

“Hope it’s to your liking!”, Viccus said. “We don’t get much variety in taste here.”

“No, it’s great, thank you very much.”, Brighid replied and ate the soup without batting an eye and without blowing on it first.

Nia exhaled loudly: “Hot!”

Mòrag suppressed a smile while Viccus released a belly laugh. Dromarch was happily eating his fish.

It was true that a soup which contained only vegetables that had “snow” and “ice” as part of their names did not taste like much, but with the few herbs Viccus had at his disposal he managed to make something very good considering the circumstances. He also had cooked and included fish with the soup, which gave it an additional layer of flavour.  
For someone who had not had much appetite before, it was just the right mix of bland and spicy, Nia found. As soon as the soup had cooled down she had downed it in record speed. She finished second only to Brighid who had the advantage of not needing to wait for her food to cool.

“Phew.” Nia put the bowl down with a satisfied smile and leaned back into her chair.

“You seem just like your usual self.”, Mòrag commented when she saw that.

Nia shrugged with a little smile. “I feel much better now, but I should keep to my bed for the rest of the day. I still feel a bit feverish.”

Dromarch seemed surprised when he heard that. “Milady, you have a fever?”, he inquired worriedly.

She nodded. “It’s gotten much better, don’t worry.” She smiled encouragingly at him, but then a shudder found its way along her spine and right after that she sneezed loudly.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks, Brighid.”

Nia shuddered again. “I should go back. If I sit here any longer my hair may freeze up.”

“I can dry it for you, if you want.”, Brighid offered when she heard that.

Nia gave her a surprised look. “Oh, well…” It was already strange enough that she had gotten herself to believe that Mòrag had a soft and caring side due to having a younger brother, but Brighid too? Nia vividly remembered their first encounter with the fire-elemental blade, where Bridghid would have been more than happy to strike them down for her driver’s sake. All the soldiers had feared her and had heeded her every word – and now she offered to play her personal hairdryer?  
“You two are awfully courteous today…”, she thought aloud with a frown.

“We are just taking care of our sick comrade, as should be within a team.”, Mòrag replied.

“Brighid just offered to be my hairdryer.”, Nia stated flatly.

“She is really good with hair care.”, Mòrag only said.

Nia didn’t know how to answer that statement. She either had _really_ misjudged the two of them or something else was going on. She stared the Ardainian driver with narrowed eyes – and suddenly it dawned on her.  
“Are you being nice to me because I saved the Emperor’s life?”

The reaction of the duo lasted only for a fleeting moment, but Nia had noticed how the two had exchanged a glance. Her heart grew heavy and she stood up. “And there I thought you actually cared for me as person.”, she said derogatively and left.

She heard Dromarch call after her and ignored him.

Back in her room she sat down on her bed sulkily. She wanted to lie down, but her hair was still wet and she didn’t want to sleep on a damp pillow, so she reluctantly stayed seated. Was it just her or had the room grown colder than before? She rubbed her arm absentmindedly to keep warm.  
It did not take long for someone to knock on her door. Nia stayed silent, but the door still opened.

It was Brighid who entered. Nia glared at her but Brighid stayed unfazed. She closed the door behind her and approached the bed.  
Nia continued to stare at her. Brighid waited for some kind of response, but when the scowling continued she decided to just sit down.  
At some point Nia huffed and faced away from the flame blade.

There was a moment of silence before Brighid took a strand of Nia’s beige hair in her hand. “May I?”, she asked the Gormotti.

Nia didn’t budge. “If you really wanna.” Not long after she felt a nice warmth radiating from the blade’s hand. “Just… watch the ears, they are sensitive.”

She could almost feel Brighid smile at the statement. “Don’t worry, I will be careful.”, she said and worked her way through Nia’s hair: one hand drying it with her flame elemental powers, while she combed it with the other. Nia hadn’t even noticed the blade carrying a comb when she had entered the room. She let Brighid do her work and had to admit that it felt quite nice.

“You do this for Mòrag too?”, she mumbled.

“Yes, it has become a ritual over the years.”

“I see…” Nia fell silent again.

Brighid combed a few times through the Gormotti’s hair before she spoke up again. “It’s true.”, she said.

One of Nia’s ears perked up. “What?”

“Lady Mòrag and I… it is true that we feel indebted to you for saving emperor Niall’s life.”, the blade began.

Nia grunted. “And I really hate arse-crawlers.”, she stated nonchalantly. “I told her: she owes me one and that’s that. You guys don’t have to be extra nice to me.”

“I understand.”, Brighid said. Her movements halted for a second. “We weren’t trying to compensate for that today though.”

Nia rose an eyebrow. “You weren’t?”

Brighid shook her head. “No. It may sound a bit matter-of-factly, but Mòrag is part of the team and wants to see our mission through – and part of that is making sure that everyone is safe and healthy. Be it on the battle field or not.”

That Nia could believe. “So she sees caring for a sick team member as one of her duties?”

“Yes.”, Brighid answered and her hands started moving again.

“Yeah, that sounds more like her.” Nia mustered up a little smile.

“Admittedly though, she may appear a bit more eager to help you out than the others.”, Brighid then said, her voice sounding a bit gentler than before. Nia imagined she was smiling.

“She really doesn’t have to.”

“I know, but can you blame her? Niall is her only family after all. I imagine it must be very hard on her to not be able to do anything in return.”

Nia lowered her gaze and bit her lip. She knew very well how it felt to see the last of her family die and what it felt like to not being able to do anything against that.

“I’m finished.”, the blade eventually said and placed her hands on her lap.

Nia ran her fingers through her hair, which felt nicely warm and silky. No knots were in it either. “You’re really good.”

The compliment brought a smile to Brighid’s face.

Nia noticed the ribbons she had placed on the night table and leaned over to grab them. “Now for the finishing touch…”

“May I?”, Brighid asked.

Nia turned to her and contemplated the request for a moment. Then she placed the ribbons in Brighid’s palm. “You better not burn them.”

“Don’t worry.”, the blade only said and took a few strands from Nia’s hair to tie them together with the yellow accessory. “Did you get those from someone special?”, she asked since Nia had seemed reluctant to hand them over.

“My sister.”, Nia answered with her gaze averted. “She used to do my hair a lot once she became bedridden.” She glanced towards Brighid and saw the surprise in her expression.

“You have a sister?”

“Had.”, was the mumbled reply.

“Did you leave her to join Torna?”, Brighid wondered.

Nia grimaced. “Like hell I’d have joined them if she had still been alive.”

The first ribbon was neatly tied into Nia’s hair now. Sensing that Nia was sensible on the topic, Brighid decided to take the talk to another direction. “Were you close to your sister?”

Nia nodded. “I used to sit on her bed with her like that quiet often.”, a little smile appeared on Nia’s face. “There weren’t a lot of things we could do together once she fell sick, but she loved doing my hair: combing, braiding, putting ribbons in it… stuff like that – and board games.” There was a wistful glint in her eyes. “She was really good at them. She played with me, my Da – guests. I also loved playing outside, so it was hard to keep up with her skill.”

Brighid tied the second ribbon into her hair. “Any game you two liked in particular?”

Nia grinned at her. “Sneak-Thief King.”

Brighid smiled back. “Is that so?”

“I never lost a game!”, Nia stated victoriously.

Brighid chuckled almost inaudibly. “I see.”, she said and stood up again. Nia’s expression fell when she saw that. She had really enjoyed talking to Brighid one on one. Brighid took notice of that. “Is there something wrong?”, she inquired.

“Oh, no… no.” Nia looked away. “Sorry for walking out like that earlier. I… get easily irritated when I’m sick.”

“So I’ve heard.”, Brighid replied amusedly. “You should probably tell that Lady Mòrag too.”

Nia’s cheeks turned pink. “I guess.” She also stood up. Brighid raised a hand and indicated her to stop. “Rest up first. You have yet to recover.”

“Mh…” The corners of Nia’s mouth turned downwards. She knew Brighid was right, but Nia didn’t like leaving things hanging like that. She let herself fall on the bed again. “That stinks.”

“It’s for your own good.”, the blade said and walked to the door.

With each inch of distance between them Nia felt Tantal’s cold approach her again. “Hey Brighid, can you tell the other two that I’m tired of being cooped up in this room alone?”

Brighid’s hand was on the handle now. “You require some company?”

“Yeah. And it’s also really cold in here…”, she added bashfully.

Brighid’s lips curved into a smirk. “I think I have just the thing for you.”

* * *

It was late evening when Pyra finally returned to her room. She opened the door carefully, knowing that Nia had probably gone to sleep early to cure her cold and to be ready for tomorrow. She was not surprised to see that the room lay mostly in darkness. She was, however, surprised to see Brighid’s blue flames upon entering.

“Hm?”

She closed the door behind her and waited until her eyes had adjusted to the dark. Indeed, Brighid was sitting on the floor right in front of Nia’s bed. After a few moments Pyra noticed that she was nestled up in Dromarch’s fur, who had also lied down in front of the bed. The red-haired blade rose an eyebrow and decided to examine the situation further.

When she approached Nia’s bed, her own green glowing body cast some more light on it and her eyes widened when saw that Nia was not sleeping alone.

It took Pyra all she had to supress a surprised gasp when she recognized the other person as Mòrag. It had taken her a minute, because Pyra had never seen the Special Inquisitor with her hair let down. That, and because her sleeping expression looked so much more peaceful and soft than when she was awake. Nia had snuggled up against her, a very content smile on her face and Mòrag in turn had put an arm around Nia’s body and held her close, resting her chin on top of the Gormotti’s head. The blanket covered only half their bodies, probably because it was already warm enough with the two of them sleeping so intimately close together and with Brighid and Dromarch in such close proximity.

 _What the…,_ Mythra’s voice chimed in her head.

Pyra made another step forward and her foot kicked something light aside. She flinched at the noise and one of Nia’s ears too. Her eyes scanned the floor and she found a playing piece from one of the board games they had picked up ages ago in Argentum. The game board and the rest of the pieces lay on the floor next to Dromarch’s head.

She rose her gaze again to take the whole picture in and smiled eventually. _Seems like they had a lot of fun_ , Pyra thought gently.

Nia stirred in her sleep. “Dim that light already, will ya?”, she whispered with closed eyes.

“Sorry, I… can’t really help it.”, Pyra replied with an equally low voice. “Do you mind explaining…?”

“Nothin’ to explain… I was bored and cold, so we took countermeasures…” Nia stifled a yawn and eventually she turned her head around to look at Pyra. “You gonna stand there all night?”

“O-of course not…” She examined the scene for a while. “You look really cosy there.”

“Heh…” There was a smile on Nia’s face. Then she rose one of her arms and lazily waved Pyra towards the bed.

Pyra understood and with a little smile she climbed onto the bed, but since it was too small for three persons to sleep on it, she decided to lean against the wall by the end of the bed and cover her body as much as possible with the part of the blanket the two drivers could spare. Not like she really needed it, she was a fire type blade and thus had no problem with the cold – besides, with her, Brighid and Dromarch in the room it was quite warm to begin with. That way she could at least cover up part of her glowing body parts.

“Sorry for burying you beneath a pile of snow the other day.”, Pyra apologized once she had made herself comfortable.

“You better be.”, Nia replied with a frown. She had lifted her upper body a bit to get a better look at Pyra. “But I will forgive you, I was in good hands after all.”, she added with a smile.

“And still are as far as I can see.”, Pyra replied amused.

“Yeah…” Nia blushed a little.

Mòrag shifted a bit. “Go back to sleep, Nia…”, she murmured drowsily. Her arm had slipped from its place around Nia’s upper body and she sleepily searched for a new spot to hold, unintentionally touching a few sensitive places. Nia tried to ignore the tingling sensation Mòrag’s hands left on her body.

“Yeah, yeah…” Nia sank gently back into the mattress. Mòrag hand wandered towards Nia’s ears and she stroke the spot between them as a reward. She stopped in the middle of the movement, apparently having fallen back to sleep in the middle of it, which amused the Gormotti.

Pyra still had the feeling that she had missed something major for them to end up like this. “How…?”, the word just slipped out of her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”, Nia only said, somewhere in the back of Pyra’s mind Mythra swore that the Gormotti woman had a smug undertone. Nia pulled the blanket close to her chest and nestled up to Mòrag again, this time hugging the other woman, instead of getting hugged by her. Mòrag’s hand traced along Nia’s head and then it stayed on her cheek. She pulled Nia’s face a little closer, their noses almost touching.

Nia slapped Mòrag’s hand lightly. “Ey, watch it.”

Mòrag pinched her cheek in response and in the dim light of Brighid’s blue flames Nia saw her smile amusedly. Somehow she doubted that Mòrag was really asleep. “You wanna get infected?”, she whispered threateningly.

Mòrag shifted a little, so that her head was above Nia’s again. “Just go to sleep…”, the Ardainian murmured.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”, Nia replied in defiance, but nevertheless she closed her eyes.

The room fell silent after that. Nia heard Pyra’s steady breath, the flame blade had obviously fallen asleep which was no surprise seeing how she had been out all day. Brighid’s flames crackled softly, Dromarch mumbled something and fell silent again.

Nia smiled as she sensed her friends around her. She was feeling warm and fuzzy inside, which was mostly due to the fact that Mòrag had her once again close and in her embrace, but knowing that everyone was all around her, just to keep her company, so that she needn’t be confined alone in her bed added a lot to that feeling.

Maybe Tantal wasn’t so cold after all.

**Author's Note:**

> In regards to how Mòrag ended in Nia's bed - I personally like to think there was a bet involved while they were playing lmao
> 
> Never sure whether I should tag a ship when nothing explicit happens... If someone thinks I should hmu and I will.


End file.
